01Bathed in ghee
Ney is ghee, and the Lord here is Neyyadiyappar, he who bathes in ghee. Kamadhenu is said to have worshipped him by pouring ghee over the linga, and to this day the ghee abhishekam is followed at once by an abhishekam of hot water. The tall, slender swayambhu linga stands in a temple of about two acres behind a five-tiered gopuram. The sanctum is held to be the work of Aditya Chola I in the ninth century; the earliest inscription is a Pandya record of the ninth century, and gifts from Chola kings follow. Balambikai stands in her own south-facing shrine in the outer court. Appar sang Neithanam in five hymns and Sambandar in one, and Arunagirinathar sang its Murugan.
02Where the palanquins meet
Every Chittirai, after Nandi’s wedding is celebrated at Tirumazhapadi, Aiyarappar of Tiruvaiyaru sets out in a glass palanquin with Nandi and his bride on the Saptasthanam round, gathering the deities of Tiruppazhanam, Tiruchotruthurai, Tiruvedikudi, Tirukkandiyur and Tiruppoonthuruthi as he goes. Tiruneithanam is the seventh and last stop, and here all seven palanquins stand together before the procession returns to Tiruvaiyaru. Villagers line the road through the night with water and buttermilk for the bearers and the pilgrims who walk behind.
Just west of Tiruvaiyaru on the Tirukattupalli road, a short ride from the Aiyarappar temple. The Saptasthanam procession reaches here in Chittirai (April–May).
